


A Simple Plan

by easilydistractedbyfanfic



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cussing, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Good Intentions, Secrets, Teen Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy, it's complicated - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:47:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27887020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/easilydistractedbyfanfic/pseuds/easilydistractedbyfanfic
Summary: Raven never thought she’d fall in love in high school, but once she started tutoring John Murphy, that’s exactly what happened. They’re both excited to soon be leaving their dead-end small town for college, and then Raven learns she’s unexpectedly pregnant. Knowing how desperate Murphy is to escape his alcoholic mother, she decides to keep their baby a secret for a single year - just long enough so Murphy won’t impulsively quit school to support a family. But even with a genius making them, sometimes the best-laid plans have a way of going awry.Written for t100fic4blm Donation Celebration using 1 theme & at least 4 tropes from those voted on by participants
Relationships: Clarke Griffin & Raven Reyes, John Murphy/Raven Reyes
Comments: 16
Kudos: 26
Collections: t100fic4blm Donation Celebration





	A Simple Plan

**Author's Note:**

> There's a fantastic collection going on with writers & creators in the t100 fandom who are accepting prompts for Black Lives Matter causes. Click on the collection linked above to read a lot more stories, and click on the following link to read more about the guidelines & how to submit a request of your own! [Check out the carrd here!](https://t100fic-for-blm.carrd.co)
> 
> Right around the end of t100, the t100fic4blm group made a goal of raising $2k by the series finale. Because we accomplished that goal, many of the participants decided to write celebration fics as a thank you to the donors who helped us get there, accompanied by artwork from fan creators. 
> 
> The moodboard & additional art for this story have been provided by the fantabulous @hopskipaway, and as always I'm touched & thrilled by her contribution! Many thanks for helping to make my story come alive!!
> 
> In addition, this story marks another type of celebration for me - THIS IS MY 50th RAVEN/MURPHY STORY!!!  
> I thank all you readers from the bottom of my heart for encouraging me when I first started, keeping me at it as I got better, and for sticking with me this long! For those of you that have been reading & dropping comments since the beginning, I hope you know how much your support means! Thank you all and I hope you will continue to enjoy what I'm coming up with!

* * *

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/170152452@N02/50680960486/in/dateposted-public/)

* * *

_I didn't mean to make you cry_

_I didn't mean to disappoint you_

_I didn't mean to tell you lies_

_And after all that we have been through_

_Won't you let me tell you why_

_~ One More Try, Timmy T_

  
  


Raven stares down at the impossible-to-misinterpret visible parallel lines on the pregnancy test she just took, feeling like her entire world is crashing down on her. Even before she’d stealthily snuck into the local pharmacy to buy it, she’d already known what the results would be. Constant nausea and missed periods could only mean one thing, but the physical evidence in her hand was only making her discomfort worse. How was she going to tell the two most important people in her life when she wasn’t even sure how to process it herself?

She couldn’t even say for sure how it had happened. Well, obviously she knew _how_ it had happened, but she and Murphy had always been careful. Raven was on birth control pills and she and Murphy were each other’s first sexual partners, and besides that, they really hadn’t even had sex all that often since that part of their relationship was still so new. Sure, she had been aware of John Murphy on a casual level since she had come to live in Sanctum, but they hadn’t gotten to truly know each other until they had been paired up in the tutoring program in tenth grade. After a bumpy start because they were both too stubborn for their own good, they had become practically inseparable, the best of friends until that fateful night when he took a risk and kissed her at the end of the summer before senior year. It had been so easy, upgrading from _just_ friends to friends-who-were-allowed-to-touch, and they’d had plenty of dates that had almost gotten out of hand physically until one or the both of them had come to their senses. And then finally neither one of them had wanted to wait anymore, and the timing seemed right and the person was _absolutely_ right, and the moment was perfect and they’d crossed that line together and Raven couldn’t regret it even now, holding the damning evidence in her hand that they were in over their heads. 

Shaking, she walks out of her bathroom and sits down on the edge of her bed, needing to think. If she’s right, she’s probably close to three months pregnant. She and Murphy are going to be graduating high school soon, and they’ve both already been accepted into the colleges of their choice. They won’t be heading to the same place - Murphy is off to the big city of Polis, and she’s supposed to be going to Shallow Valley since their mechanical engineering program is top notch. Hell, they’ve both worked so _hard_ for this escape, even though it wasn’t that long ago that Murphy had just been scraping by, uncaring about his grades and even himself after his dad died. The tutoring program had been his last chance; it was either get his grades up or be suspended, and Raven wasn’t going to let that happen on her watch, not after she’d gotten to know him and why he’d been slacking off. They’d managed to pull off the near-impossible by upping his grades along with his SAT scores, earning him a partial scholarship in Polis that would put him into a work-study program that would allow him to stay far away from Sanctum and his drunken mother. Ever since they had gotten the news that he'd been accepted, they’d been so excited, making plans about how they could visit each other and keep in touch with their other friends… 

Now it all felt so far away and maybe even out of reach for good. 

Raven takes a deep, shuddering breath. No, she couldn’t let that happen, not for either of them. She’s on a full ride scholarship, and even if it sounds egotistical, she knows Shallow Valley will be lucky to have her. There must be some way she could still pull this off. Reaching for her laptop, she starts looking up her options for deferment. She’s Raven Reyes, after all, and once she puts her mind to something, _nothing_ is going to get in her way. 

* * *

“Clarke, can you just come over?” Raven speaks the question into the phone, her voice brusque, cutting her friend off in the middle of a long-winded description of Clarke’s plans for the weekend, but she figures once Clarke hears what Raven has to tell her, no one is going to blame her for being snippy. 

“Yeah, okay,” Clarke stammers, clearly confused at the abrupt interruption. “Lemme make sure it’s fine with my mom and then I’ll head over. Want me to grab some pizza on my way since it’s close to dinner time?”

  
  
“That’d be great. Sinclair’s at the shop and won’t be home til later, so usually I’m on my own with dinner on Thursday night anyway. Can you get extra cheese? Oh, and a salad, I guess. I’ll give you some money when you get here.”

“Sure, I can do that, but since when do you order a salad with your pizza?”

_Since now_ , Raven thinks to herself with a muffled sigh, but she doesn’t say it out loud. 

“I guess I’m just in the mood for one,” she fibs. 

“Alright. See you in about a half hour then.” 

Clarke hangs up and Raven turns towards her messy bedroom, notebooks and printouts all over her bed and pages spread partially across the floor as she frantically worked out her changed future for the past few hours. She’s got a plan, a solid one really, but she’s going to need some input and a rehearsal of her rebuttals before she presents it to Sinclair, and Clarke will make for great practice. Besides being one of the first people to befriend her since she moved to Sanctum to be Sinclair’s foster daughter, Clarke will see through any of her weak points right away. And Raven already knows there’s quite a few of them. 

* * *

“This is _such_ a bad idea, Raven. I don’t even know how you came up with it.” Clarke tosses her empty plate in the kitchen trash can, looking frustrated. 

Raven had been too anxious when she opened the door, immediately alerting Clarke that something was wrong. It wasn’t how she’d intended to do it, but Raven blurted out that she was pregnant, and the two friends had shared quite a few tears before they’d finally calmed down and eaten the now-cold pizza and salad. While they ate, Raven had shared her intentions with Clarke, and Clarke’s face had definitely shown resistance. 

“It’s a simple plan, a solid one even. I just have to stick to my story and not see Murphy, no matter how he responds.”

Clarke rolls her eyes and collapses on the nearby couch that is visible from the kitchen island where Raven is perched. “Okay, go over it one more time for me and let me just take it in again.”

“We only have about two more months of senior year and then it’s summer. If I’m lucky I won’t be showing much, so hiding the pregnancy at school shouldn’t be a problem. I’m going to break up with Murphy right after graduation; tell him that I don’t think we’re going to be able to maintain a long-distance relationship, and that it’ll be easier to end things sooner instead of drawing it out all summer. Murphy has to go to Polis early for training with his work study program, so I think I can avoid him until he leaves if I do start to show. I’ve looked everything up - I can take a gap year and still keep my scholarship. I’ve had some of my own customer projects in Sinclair’s shop before, so maybe I can take some of that on again and earn some money until the baby comes.” Raven trails off, her thoughts going in multiple directions at once. 

“Well, that bit isn’t horrible, but how are you going to juggle college and a baby? Shallow Valley isn’t close enough to Sanctum to commute, and even if you could get family student housing there, you’ll be away from everyone who could help you.”

“That’s definitely a hole in the plan, I admit it,” Raven shrugs, crossing over to the couch to sit down next to Clarke in the comfortable family room. “I have some time to work that one out though, and maybe the admissions office will have some advice about all that, like daycare and stuff. I’m sure I won’t be the only student they’ve ever had in this position. And I _know_ Sinclair is going to have some things to stay about it all.” 

“Okay, so putting that aspect aside for a minute, you said you don’t want to tell Murphy about the baby because you’re afraid he’ll give up on going to Polis and stay with you to support his kid. But Raven - that doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me. You didn’t get into this by yourself, you know. It’s what he _should_ do, especially if he cares about you as much as I think he does.”

“I know he loves me, Clarke, just like I love him,” Raven asserts. “But that’s the thing - it’s _because_ I love him that I don’t want him to give up his life for me or our baby. He’s been so set on getting out of this tiny little town and away from his mom - you know he has. And he’s worked _so_ hard for his scholarship… If I tell him I’m pregnant, he won’t go to college this year and he’ll get some dead-end job here in Sanctum and he won’t say it but he’ll be miserable. And the longer he puts it off, the harder it will be to pick it back up again.”

A few tears start to run down her face and Raven scrubs them away, annoyed. “I can’t let that happen to him. I won’t keep the baby a secret forever - I couldn’t. But if I can manage to hide the pregnancy and let Murphy get through his first year of college, by then he’ll love it and I don’t think he’ll be able to give it up when he finds out what I did. I just need to buy some time. I need to make sure he leaves in August for Polis like he’s supposed to, and I’ll probably have this baby sometime in September if my timing is right. He won’t come home for the holidays if we’re broken up - he won’t want to stay with his mom. So that means he won’t return to Sanctum until the beginning of next June or so, if he even does at all. By that time he might find a summer job in Polis and stay there until sophomore year begins instead. And then I’ll be going to college too, and the baby will be about a year old and I will have figured out how to juggle school and a kid and he won’t have to quit and get a job for us when I tell him what happened.”

Clarke’s worried eyes meet hers. “But Raven… Even if all that’s true, and it does work out like you’ve planned… you’re still keeping a _baby_ from him. He’s going to miss out on so much. If Murphy comes back to Sanctum after his first year at Polis, what, that’ll put the baby at about nine months old when he finally finds out? And if he doesn’t show up, then what, you’ll go tell him when the baby is already a year old? That’s such a big chunk of time for a parent to miss. Is that fair to him? Or to your baby?” 

Her friend’s expression is apologetic, but the words dig deep into Raven’s own fears. “It’s not fair, of course it isn’t. None of this is fair. But Clarke… I have Sinclair. I have you and our friends and even though it’ll be hard, I can do this. Murphy doesn’t have that support, and if you knew how _much_ he wants to get away from here, you’d want that for him too.” Raven shakes her head, determined. “No, I have to do it like this. I won’t be the reason he gets stuck, not after how far he’s come since his dad died. This is how it has to be.”

Clarke sighs, but doesn’t argue. Instead she reaches for Raven’s hand, prompting yet another wave of emotion and tears. 

“If this is what you want, Raven, then I’ll do my best to help.”

Raven knows Clarke means the words with the best of intentions, but still the thought occurs to her that _what she wants_ isn’t really in the realm of possibility any longer. Instinctively, her hand drifts down to rest on her still-flat stomach. How is it possible to feel her heart breaking and getting bigger, all at the same time?

* * *

Avoiding Murphy at school on Friday is difficult but doable, at least until he catches her by surprise after lunch when she stops at her locker and he appears out of nowhere, grabbing her hand in his with a little squeeze. 

“Hey, is everything okay? I haven’t seen you much today.”

As she looks up into his concerned blue eyes, a part of her wants to answer the question truthfully; wants to tell him that no, everything is not okay and it might not be okay ever again, but she stiffens her shoulders and pastes on a smile, hoping to fool him. 

“I’m okay. It’s just been a busy week.”

“In that case, I’ll do my best to keep you relaxed tonight.”

Her face must show her confusion, since Murphy raises an eyebrow at her and offers an explanation. 

“The movies? The one that we’re supposed to go to tonight with the whole group? Some chick movie Octavia and Harper are up in arms about?”

“Oh, right,” Raven murmurs, slamming her locker shut. “I forgot about that.”

“You still want to go, don’t you? Or we can cancel if you’d rather stay in. They won’t miss us and I’d rather have you all to myself anyway.” Murphy tightens his fingers around hers as they walk down the hallway, and the gesture is almost too much when she’s already swirling with conflicted feelings every time she glances at him. When they’re alone he’s always saying things that make her melt, but today it’s overwhelming, knowing what she knows and how she has to break up with him soon. 

“No, we should go,” she says, even though her throat is tight. “There’s not a lot of time for us all to be together - I want to take advantage of it while I can.”

“I’ll try not to be too disappointed with your answer,” Murphy teases as they approach the door to Raven’s next class, and on a whim she uses his grip on her hand to pull him into a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around his back as she presses her face into his shoulder. She can tell he’s surprised by the sudden gesture but he doesn’t hesitate to return the embrace, kissing the side of her head when she reluctantly pulls away and quickly walks into the classroom, not looking back even though she wants to. 

* * *

Hours later, their group of friends are sliding into a few tables in their favorite local diner, and Raven hopes no one asks her about the movie since she zoned out as soon as the lights dimmed, her mind preoccupied. Murphy pushed up the armrest between them while the previews were still playing, lifting his arm around her, and she took full advantage, snuggling closer in an attempt to block everything out but him. At any other time, she might have fallen asleep, but her worries persisted no matter how hard she tried to ignore them, and the loud chatter around her now doesn’t help the aching headache that’s been building. 

“Hey, Raven, wanna split some fries?” Echo asks, nudging her with an elbow since they’re seated next to each other. 

“Sure, that sounds good,” she answers, even though she'd rather have a hot fudge sundae. Idly, she wonders how long she’ll have to hang out before she can make an excuse to head home. She meant it when she told Murphy she didn’t want to miss out on getting together with everyone, but she’s also desperate for some quiet. After school she phoned her gynecologist’s office and made an appointment for Wednesday. It’s where she’d gone for the birth control prescription and now she’d be going to be tested for pregnancy and basically get any advice they were willing to give on what to do next. And once she had it truly confirmed, that meant telling Sinclair. The thought makes her stomach clench. Disappointing him is the last thing she's ever wanted to do. And even with a few days between now and then, she needs time to tweak her approach in order to get him to agree with what she wants. Besides that, she’s just incredibly tired. 

She turns her head to listen to Echo and Harper talk about the movie, knowing Murphy is busy discussing something she hasn’t been listening to with Monty across from him, but she feels someone’s gaze on her and looks up, only to find Clarke staring at her from the next table. Raven offers a small smile at Clarke’s inquisitive expression, aware she probably looks less than enthusiastic about being there. She’s going to need to do better if she doesn’t want anyone pestering her about her mood. Taking a sip of her water, she pays more attention to Echo’s opinion of the movie plot, and under the table where no one else can see, she places her hand just above Murphy’s knee, seeking the comfort his touch always seems to bring. Her fingers have barely stilled before he rests his palm on hers, so she turns her hand over to clasp his, all the while wondering how many more stolen moments she’s going to get before she has to give him up. 

* * *

Murphy drives her home after the diner, and usually it’s their habit to crash on her couch for a while on a Friday or Saturday night, making fun of movies or competing on various video games. Sinclair doesn’t mind if it isn’t too late, and he knows they can’t be at Murphy’s. Not with Murphy’s mother around. Tonight though… As much as Raven wants to savor every minute with him, she’s tangled up in knots when she’s next to Murphy too, and when they pull into her driveway, she makes up her mind to make an excuse, intending to take a shower and go to bed instead. 

“Hey, would you be upset if I call it a night? I’m tired and I want to go into the shop early tomorrow since Sinclair has a difficult engine to piece back together and I want to watch.”

“Can’t say I wouldn’t like to spend more time with you, but you’ve been quiet today. If you want some extra sleep then you probably need it.” 

They reach the back landing and Raven can see through the window that Sinclair has left the kitchen light on for her. 

Murphy leans in when they pause to say goodnight, putting a hand on her hip to draw her in closer. “Maybe I can help make sure we both have sweet dreams though.” 

His other arm lifts until his hand is at the back of her neck, urging her chin up so he can meet her mouth with his own, and like always when it comes to him, it doesn’t take long before Raven’s swept up in the kiss, everything else falling away except for the way he touches her and how her body responds. Nothing has ever felt like this, and even with her limited experience, Raven’s always been pretty certain that what they have is something special. She grips the front of his shirt and lifts up on her toes, pushing herself against him until he groans into her mouth and his hand tightens on her hip, and she knows even if she turns to jelly with the things his tongue is doing to her, he’ll hold her up and won’t let her fall. 

She lets it go on as long as she dares, only stepping back when her fingers start heading for the button on his jeans like they have a mind of their own. Maybe they do, considering they practically itch with the desire to fondle the hard length of him that’s pressing against her belly. They’re both breathing heavily, Murphy’s cheek resting against her temple, and in that single moment Raven wants nothing more than to drag him up to her bedroom and lock the door and do every wicked thought that’s running through her head. But that’s pretty much how they’ve gotten into this situation to begin with, even if he doesn’t know anything about it, so she takes a last minute to inhale the light cologne he wears before she kisses the side of his neck and steps far enough away that his hand drops from her waist. 

“Fuck, you’re not making this easy,” he complains, shifting his weight from foot to foot until he seems to find a more comfortable position. 

“Sorry,” Raven whispers, but she’s not really sorry about it, not when it gives her such a thrill to know that he wants her as much as she wants him. They may have taken things slow in the beginning, but now that she knows _exactly_ how Murphy can make her feel, it’s always hard to resist him. 

His eyes are filled with desire as they flick over her from head to toe, and Raven’s struck by the idea that maybe he’s deliberately memorizing what she looks like right now so he can _do_ something about it later. The thought pleases her, and for a moment she feels like a weight is lifted off her shoulders and she’s her usual self when she grins mockingly at him and quickly leans back in to drop one last soft kiss on his bottom lip. 

“Guess we’re both gonna be thinking about each other later, huh?”

“I’m always thinking about you,” Murphy replies, his voice quiet and more thoughtful than usual, and it should be corny, the kind of line that would make her roll her eyes if someone said it in a romance movie like the one they watched tonight, but it’s different when he says it. When Murphy says it she feels a little pang in her heart because she knows he means it. And worse, she _wants_ him to mean it. 

“Goodnight, Murphy.” She turns to unlock the door, set on not letting her emotions get the best of her. 

“Night, Raven.”

She makes it to her room before the first sob heaves up from her chest.

**Author's Note:**

> More to come! We had to choose 1 theme & 4 tropes from a voted-on list for these Celebration Fics, and my theme is Modern AU and one of my tropes was Unplanned Pregnancy. I'll add more as they show up in the story. [If you want a sneak peek of what's coming next, you gotta check out this fantastic piece Hopskipaway made!](https://hopskipaway.tumblr.com/post/636627388374073344/a-simple-plan)
> 
> Comments and kudos are always met with wild enthusiasm & appreciation! Stay safe & healthy!


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